Are you living a telomere-friendly lifestyle? Telomere length is a measure of longevity and predisposition for degenerative disease. The good news is that we can help protect our telomeres by the way we choose to live our lives. In this week’s episode, Elissa Epel, co author of ‘The Telomere Effect’, shares her groundbreaking research on the effects of stress and psychology on telomere length. She describes what is detrimental to our telomeres, but also all the positive things we can do to protect and, indeed, lengthen them. We talk about the importance of maternal physical and psychological health and the role it plays in the telomere length of the offspring. A topic that has huge socioeconomic and psychosocial implications. Elissa lets us in on her current research on various methods to harness the power of positive stress, such as Wim Hoff breathing techniques. She also describes the effects of banning sugared drinks and how these results should encourage activism at the local level to create meaningful change.
For more information go to Amecenter.ucsf.edu. And Twitter: @Dr_Epel
